The 2003 epic movie “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” starred Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey. When his ship is attacked on the outskirts of
This two disc DVD was loaded with extras. What are some things you can expect to find?
Disc 1
The first disc of the DVD set contains the 138 minute movie.
Disc 2
The second disc contains a number of special features including:
The Hundred Days Documentary
This 70 minute documentary featured interviews with the film’s director, Peter Weir, as well as Duncan Henderson (producer), Todd Arnow (co-producer), Leon Poindexter (historian consultant) and Jim Barry (Master Rigger). Topics in this segment included:
- The book by Patrick O’Brian that the movie is based on
- The HMS Rose
- Shooting footage at sea
- Building replicas
- The construction of the surprise
- Ropes, rigging and getting the ships ready in time for filming
Characters & Casting
Peter Weir discussed adapting O’Brian’s book to the screen and the establishment of “The Monkey Bar”, the actors’ “home away from home”.
Russell Crowe discussed his take on the character of Captain Jack Aubrey, the chance to work with Peter Weir, the character of Dr. Stephen Maturin and the casting of Paul Bettany.
Alan Curtiss (executive producer) and Judith Bauley discussed casting the rest of the crew.
Learning The Ropes
Duncan Henderson (producer) discussed the cast’s participation in boot camp and how they were trained to run the ship.
Daniel Speaker (stunts/sword master) discussed the cast’s training on swordplay and cannons.
George Innes who portrayed Joe Plaice talked about how the crew was trained to load and fire cannons.
Bryan Dick who portrayed Joseph Nagle talked about the crew’s rank on the ship.
Russell Crowe discussed set uniforms to distinguish the rank of the crew.
James D’Arcy who portrayed Lieutenant Tom Pullings discussed going through boot camp.
Principle Photography
Principle photography was shot mainly at sea beginning in June 2002.
Russell Boyd (director of photography) discussed working with Peter Weir and filming on the ship.
Gordon Laco (lead historical consultant) talked about the low structural overheads located within the ships at that time.
Makeup and Costumes
Edouard Henriques III (key make-up department head) discussed the visual effects of blood in scenes, teeth staining and the movie’s hair and costumes.
Shooting At Sea
Peter Weir and Russell Crowe discuss the difficulties of working and filming on the water.
The Galapagos
This feature talked about filming on location as well as substituting some shots of
Ram Her Bow
Doug Coleman (stunt choreographer) discussed the fight choreography for the movie.
Daniel Speaker (sword master) and Jane Bryant (stunts) talked about Russell Crowe’s input on his fight sequences.
Music
This feature talked about the music scene with Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Maturin. Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany discussed learning the violin and cello, respectively, for the movie.
Scoring the film was also showcased.
In The Wake Of O’Brian
Peter Weir discussed adapting the “Far Side of the World” from the page to big screen. Weir talked about the research and process he went through to prepare for the script and filming. He also discussed noting the twenty books of the series, how genuine props were used in the film, ideas for ships via paintings and other films and the camaraderie between Jack and Stephen.
HBO First Look
This feature included segments such as:
The Elements of Surprise
A retrospect of the characters, Captain Jack Aubrey and the story
Two Ships
Using ships in filming, miniatures and CGI
A New Endeavor
Filming the water and elements
Living the Role
A crash course in the way of life at sea, weaponry, rowing, fencing, cannons and working as a crew
No Retreat No Surrender
Battle on the open sea
The Enchanted Isle
Filming on the
A Violin and Cello
A look at the musical scene between Jack and Stephen
Featurettes
Cinematic Phasmids
Part 1: Tall Ships – False and True – A look at art and visual effects, rigging and model ships vs CGI
Part 2: Fighting Sail – A look at real and CGI battle sequences, battle damage, fog, smoke and cannon fire
Part 3:
Part 4: The Galapagos – Effects used to make Baja look like the Galapagos and a look at the wildlife used in the scene
Sound Design
On Sound Design Featurette:
The was a special look at Richard King’s task of capturing sounds of life on the open sea, cannon fire and impact, artillery fire, sail sounds and wind and rain effects used in the movie. The feature also included looped dialogue vs. location audio.
Interactive Cannon Demonstration:
This allowed you to hear how cannon fire varies due to microphone placement.
Deleted Scenes
This DVD extra featured six previously deleted scenes including:
- Weighing Anchor
- Shipboard Life
- Superstition
- Dentistry
- Articles of War
- Galapagos
Multi-Camera Shooting
Surprising the
This feature lets you determine the camera angle you use to view a certain scene.
The Final
Allows you to view the same scene with a different camera angle
Allows you to view a scene with different camera angles at the same time
Still Galleries
This segment included conceptual, naval and technical art from the movie including:
- George Jensen’s black and white drawings of scenes
- Daren Dochterman’s conceptual art of the ship and different props
- Images of Naval Art Peter Weir used to base his visual concepts on
- Ship blueprints
Trailers
This feature included the Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer and International Trailer for “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”.
To purchase this DVD visit:
See Also:
A Fish Called Wanda DVD Special Features
Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter
© 2007 by Tammy Cordani. To use the above content you must first obtain written permission. Please contact Tammy Cordani. All rights reserved.